Love at First Squeak
by DiscordantPrincess
Summary: A one-shot explaining how Ratigan met his wife Mary. Hopefully cute.


**Hola, compadres! Espero que les gusta mi nuevo cuento...sorry, I can't help it, I'm a Spanish major!**

**Here we have another wonderful GMD one-shot. This tells the tale of how our dear Professor Ratigan met his OC wife Mary. **

**This one-shot is dedicated to FairyTales And Pixie Dust, who requested this story and who has been a wonderful supporter of my GMD fics ever since day one. Thank you so much, my friend, and I hope you enjoy this story. **

LONDON 1872

Professor Padraic Ratigan smiled as he made his way to his office. Today was the first day of classes at Oxford University, and he was looking forward to seeing all the bright new faces of the young students in his mathematics courses.

Ratigan was greeted in his office by his secretary Alice. "Good morning, Professor Ratigan. Looking forward to the new semester?"

"Good morning, Alice. Oh yes, I'm looking forward to the new semester very much." Ratigan picked up his class schedule and read it. "Ah, my first class is at nine. Honors mathematics. Oh my, sounds like a challenge."

"Well, if anyone can teach the honors mathematics course, it's you, sir," Alice reassured the professor. "After all, you ARE the head of the mathematics department, as well as being the smartest professor at Oxford."

Ratigan smiled, blushing. "Oh Alice, I'd hardly say that I was the smartest."

"But it's true! How many other professors here do you know who graduated summa cum laude from Oxford at age nineteen and were immediately offered the position of head of his major's department after graduation? You, Professor Ratigan, are a genius through and through."

Alice's words made Ratigan blush more. "That's very kind of you to say, Alice. Thank you."

* * *

Once nine o'clock rolled around, Ratigan found himself face to face with eighteen young mice in honors math, looking ready and eager to learn. "Good morning, class, and welcome to honors mathematics. I am Professor Ratigan, and I'll be your instructor for the semester. Now, I thought we'd start out by revisiting the Pythagorean Theorem..."

Just then, the door burst open. "I'm so sorry I'm late, Professor! I went into the wrong classroom and they directed me here."

Ratigan turned to face the young lady who had just come in to chastise her for her tardiness...and found himself unable to speak. Standing there was the most beautiful girl he'd ever seen. She had luscious tawny fur, shoulder-length golden hair fixed into a ponytail, and big, expressive dark blue eyes. She wore a simple gray dress and carried a brown bookbag with her. Ratigan shook his head to clear his mind. "Um, all right, miss, just take a seat anywhere and please make sure to be on time for the remainder of the semester."

The girl smiled. "Thank you, Professor." She found an empty desk and sat at it.

"Oh, I should probably get your name to make sure you're in the right class this time."

The girl laughed. "Of course. It's Bentley...Mary Bentley."

Ratigan smiled as he looked at the roster. "Ah yes, Mary Bentley. Here you are...right where you're supposed to be." He chuckled nervously as the other students eyed him oddly. He then composed himself and cleared his throat. "Well then, shall we go on?"

So Ratigan continued with the class. He tried to make sure he looked at each of his students at least once; however, his eyes kept drifting towards Mary, who was diligently taking notes each time he saw her. She was so beautiful. Every time he looked over to her, his heart thumped against his ribcage and his tummy felt fluttery. _Either I'm coming down with some sort of strange virus_, he thought to himself, _or I'm in love...grr, snap out of it, Ratigan! You can't be in love with a student! It goes against the rules of the university for a professor to be romantically involved with a student._ He looked again at Mary. _Oh, but I can't help it, she's just so beautiful, AND so intelligent! No, no, you must keep your distance._ He sighed. _No matter how hard it may be_.

* * *

Later, once the class ended, most of the students filed out of the room without so much as a word to their professor. Ratigan rolled his eyes. He was used to being ignored by the students. He started to pick up his desk.

"Excuse me, Professor." Ratigan's heart jumped when he heard the voice. He looked up from his mess of papers and books to see Mary standing there. "Um, yes, what can I do for you, Miss...Miss Bentley, was it?"

Mary smiled. "I just wanted to thank you again for being so understanding about my tardiness."

"Oh, well, think nothing of it. I was once a freshman too, you know. I had a heck of a time trying to find my way around campus. It's completely understandable."

The young girl sighed. "To be honest, I'm a little relieved that you feel that way. So many students I've talked to say that you're scarier than the Devil."

Ratigan chuckled, although deep down he was a bit hurt. "I suppose I DO look rather intimidating, don't I?"

"Oh, my mother would absolutely DIE if she knew I was taking a class from you. She HATES rats with a passion." Mary laughed, then let out a squeak when she saw the professor's face fall. "I'm so sorry, I didn't mean anything by that."

"No, no, it's fine, my dear, I'm quite used to the prejudice," Ratigan assured her. _It doesn't make it hurt any less, though_. "Actually, I'm only HALF rat. My mother was a mouse."

"Well I see no shame in being ANY part rat," Mary stated. "Rats are every bit as intelligent and capable as mice, and they should be able to be a part of society without anyone saying anything stupid about them."

Ratigan grinned. "If only more mice shared your beliefs, Miss Bentley."

"Please, call me Mary."

"Mary...such a pretty name."

"And what's YOUR first name?" Mary asked.

"Padraic."

"Padraic, that's a nice name, too. Very Irish." Mary smiled. "Well, I guess I'd better be heading to my next class. I doubt EVERY professor here will be as lenient as you about being late."

"No, I don't think they will be."

Mary started out the door. "Oh, wait, before I go..." She ran over to Ratigan and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "I know we're not supposed to be with our professors, but I can't help it. You captivated me the moment I stepped into the classroom. I'll see you tomorrow, Padraic." She left the room, leaving Ratigan alone to have his insides melt.

* * *

The two were a loving couple from the end of the semester on. They were married shortly after Mary graduated and would be together until death did them part.

**Ah, I do so love a good romantic story, don't you? ****I don't know about y'all, but at the part where Ratigan sees Mary for the first time, I was hearing some romantic music playing in my head LOL.**

**Yes, Padraic is an Irish name, I looked it up. In fact, according to my sister's baby name book (I'm obsessed with names, what can I say) it's the Irish form of the Latin name Patrick...guess we should be celebrating St. Padraic's Day instead of St. Patrick's Day!**

**I don't know if professors and students is really quite illegal, but I'm pretty sure it's highly frowned upon. **

**Yeah, I doubt like heck that in a society where your Queen is a mouse, rats would be considered full-class citizens...I dunno, I've personally always liked rats more than mice, but maybe that's just me being weird.**

**Hope you guys enjoyed my little one-shot! See you soon!**

**All my best, DiscordantPrincess.**


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